Downworlder Rising
by Eponine Everdeen42
Summary: Catharine Bellethorn has been attacked. And now she is a vampire. But she's not sure if she's ready to be a creature of the night juuust yet... After all, she still does have so many questions and a new name to get used to, plus her separation from the Clave. But when a mysterious black shadow starts killing vampires... Will Catharine (Now Valentina) get to the bottom of it?
1. In Which We Are Introduced

**Downworlder Rising**

Chapter One: In Which We Are Introduced To A Fledgling And A Leader

She awoke to the sound of voices and the smell of food.

"...Wake up?" a male voice was murmuring. "I mean, is there a chance she won't? Like a statistic or something?"

"No," another male answered. His voice was accented and smooth. "If they climb out, they climb out. Simple as that."

Her stomach rumbled, and she groaned. Something was pressing down on her, hard. Earth. It was freezing and hard. But she had to get out. It was the only way to the meal that beckoned to her from above.

With a savage cry, she ripped at the dirt above her, clawing and beating. Her nails broke, but she didn't care. Food was her only motivation.

And suddenly she burst out of the ground.

Two men and a woman were conversing quietly. They turned to her.

The taller boy- _my brother, _she realised- choked back a sob. He reached out to her. "Catharine," he said painfully.

But Catharine didn't care.

The smell of his blood and his mortality overwhelmed her as she sprang at him. The woman screamed, and Catharine would have grabbed her too if not for the last boy who threw her back.

"No, little fledgling," he scolded. "You must not gobble your brother up. It is not polite. Here..." And he withdrew a bottle of the blood she starved for from the pocket of his white jacket.

_Food._

And it was in her hands, hers. She ripped off the top and emptied it into her waiting mouth. _More._

And so she stayed, consuming bottle after bottle, while her brother and his fiancée looked on in horror. But the other boy looked merely amused.

"She is Turned," he announced. "Little girl, what is your name?"

Catharine blinked, the moon shining down with loving beams on her cold face. But- she wasn't Catharine, not anymore. That name did not fit her. Catharine was pure in blood and spirit, and she was not.

She faced the boy, who was waiting with his arms crossed over his slim chest. She touched her wet mouth, and her fingers came away red.

And suddenly she was on the ground, sobbing, because she knew.

She knew she was dead.

She knew she was a monster.

But she had to be brave.

Just like the meaning of the name she had always wanted.

"Valentina," she said.

Ω Ω Ω

"Catharine, my Catharine," wept Harry as he hugged her to his chest.

"Shhh, Harry." Never in her life had Valentina imagined herself comforting her older brother. When they were younger, it was always him helping her, whether it was a scraped knee or a boyfriend problem. But now there he was, bawling in her arms.

"It's going to be all right," Valentina whispered as his tears bled through her green tank top. "I promise."

"And Marigold- what will Marigold think?" he gasped, squeezing her tight.

"It will be fine," the smaller girl told him as soothingly as she could.

"You're my _sister."_

"I know."

"You know," Harry said as he pulled away, wiping his tears. "When you were younger you always wanted to be magic. Now you are." He sniffed, lowering himself onto a beanbag chair.

"I'm not," Valentina said lamely.

"But you are. Super speed, super strength, shapeshifting." Harry blew his nose on a Kleenex. "But it comes with... with such a _cost." _

"Not much of a cost," lied Valentina.

Suddenly, with surprising agility, Harry seized her shoulders. "If you walk outside in the daytime, you'll _die," _he shouted. "You'll _burn up, _like a piece of paper put next to a match. _I don't want that to happen to you."_

"It won't, Harry, it won't, I swear!" gasped the vampire, caught off guard. "I'll be careful... I'll live in the Dumort... It will be okay..."

"You'll come visit me though, right?"

Valentina stared into her older brother's deep green eyes. _Right?_

"I guess."

Harry nodded, pulling her close to him and stroking her hair. "Okay," he said as the tears fell onto her light blond ponytail. "Okay."

Valentina would have cried as well. She _wanted _to cry. But crying meant a loss of blood, and she didn't know how many bottles Raphael (the vampire that had helped her) had left. So instead she hugged her brother fiercely, trying to memorise every detail of him, every nook, every fold. "I love you, Harry. You're my brother," she whispered, rocking him from side to side. "You're my brother."

He nodded.

"I hate to cut this short, _mi reina_," cut in a sarcastic voice. "But it is almost daytime. We would hate for you to burn up, as your brother said. Also, I do not wish to remain in the company of Nephilim for too long."

Harry drew in his breath sharply, and Valentina spun to see Raphael, leaning against the doorframe and looking bored.

"Don't call me that," said the girl.

"Call you what?"

"_Mi reina. _My queen."

"I was merely demonstrating proper manners."

"No, you weren't."

Raphael narrowed his eyes. "I have no time to argue. Shall we leave for the Dumort?" He extended his arm, covered with an expensive-looking black jacket.

Valentina's breath caught in her throat. She squeezed her brother's hand, one last time...

And kissed her brother's cheek, one last time...

And hugged her brother tightly, one last time...

And then she followed Raphael Santiago out of the house.

**I'm so sorry I haven't been on lately. So much stuff is happening and I haven't been feeling it. I swear I'm still doing my Sweeney Todd fic. But don't expect regular updates. Peace!**


	2. In Which Valentina Meets Her People

**Hey guys! I'm back! I got my Spanish off Google, so I'd appreciate if any Spanish or Mexican readers out there would tell me if I butchered your language or not. Happy reading!**

Chapter Two: In Which Valentina Meets Her People

The Hotel Dumort was an old, dilapidated building that made Valentina wince when she looked at it. She had known it before, being a Shadowhunter, but it still gave her chills.

"Do I have to live _here_?" she asked Raphael weakly.

"If you want a roof over your head and food in your belly," he replied, sounding bored. "I, for one, think that anyone who lives in the Dumort with my clan is very fortunate. There are some clans who must travel around and sleep in ditches."

Valentina shuddered. She quickly entered the building.

"There's no stairs," she said blandly as she gazed up to the second floor.

"Well, of course not," the older boy told her. "Do you think we would be that stupid? _Dios..." _And he closed his eyes and stood completely still.

A pause settled between them. Valentina fidgeted, wondering what Raphael was doing. "Um, excuse me, Raphael...?" she finally asked, tapping his shoulder.

"_Callarse!" _he hissed, batting her away. "Are you an utterly ignorant fool?"

Valentina started. "Excuse me?"

"I am _busy!"_

"Doing _what?" _

Raphael swore in Spanish. "Just keep your mouth shut, _okay?" _he snarled.

"Jee- ah!" Valentina coughed, her breath catching in her throat painfully, along with a burning sensation.

Raphael chuckled. "You forgot you are damned?"

Valentina placed her hands on her slim hips and glared at him. "You're a real bastard, you know that, bloodsucker?"

"It's a known fact. Now, will you please be quiet so I can concentrate."

Valentina _humphed_ and did be quiet. She watched her companion for a while. He remained still and absoloutely silent.

And then there was a huge puff of brown dust. Valentina gasped and jumped back (although she didn't need to breathe anymore).

Raphael was gone.

"Raphael?"

Nothing. He seemed to have completely vanished.

Except for a cloud of brown dust, floating in the air. She reached out to touch it, her pale fingers swirling in the powder. And yet, none of it stuck to or grazed her fingertips.

The cloud flew up, up, up, and Valentina stared after it. It broke apart, shimmering, on the upstairs level and then it was _him. _

He smirked. "Are you coming up or no, _mi reina? _Or must I teach you to do that too?"

Valentina glared at him. "Shut up!"

"You're not going to go anywhere like that." Raphael sneered at her, obviously enjoying the upper hand. "Open your mind and concentrate."

"Huh, I thought you were gonna tell me to close my eyes and take cleansing breaths."

He chuckled. "You thought wrong, though. Hurry up, I haven't all night. Or day."

So Valentina concentrated. _Dust, dust, dust, dust. Dust, dust, dust, dust._

She felt herself floating up... Weightless... A cipher...

"Oh my G─" The burning filled her throat again choked her with bile. She was heavy again, falling, a ringing sound in her ears and a panicky feeling in her chest. With a desperate sort of grab that twisted her torso painfully, Valentina tried to get hold of the railing on the second floor. It thudded her palm, and she tried to wrap her long fingers around it, but she was already falling and falling and falling...

And screaming and screaming and screaming...

And then she stopped. Because something was holding on to her wrist.

She didn't have to look up to know it was Raphael. His hand squeezed hers uncomfortably with a grip like iron.

"Next time," he said, his face set grimly. "You will not be so careless, eh, _mi reina?"_

Valentina would have told him to shut up, or called him a little _perra _("bitch" in his own language), but she was too breathless, hungry and exhausted to get a word out.

"Are you not going to thank me?" he asked after she had been hauled over the railing and landed safely on her feet.

She glared at him, breathing hard. "_Muchas gracias, perra." _

Raphael quirked an eyebrow. "If you would refrain from referring to your leader as such, it would be much appreciated." He splayed an arm down the hall. "Shall we?"

He led her to a tall door on the left side, three down from where she was before. She pushed it open before he could.

They were there. All of them.

"Valentina Dawnpath," Raphael announced solemnly.

They were short, tall, blond, brunette, redheaded, sitting, standing, _everywhere._ It was crazy, Valentina thought as her eyes roamed the others' faces. These are supposed to be the people like me.

Do I feel like them?

One, a willowy redheaded girl, rose with a smirk. "We welcome you to the New York clan, Miss Dawnpath..."

"Thanks, I guess..." Valentina waved half-heartedly. "Yeah," she continued awkwardly. "So I'm Valentina, and... Um, yeah."

Sniggers rippled through the crows. Valentina felt intensely uncomfortable.

"So," she said. "Is there a room I should go to...? Somewhere I can have privacy... Like a bedroom... Where you- I mean _we, _we, sorry... Where we sleep?" Why was she so embarrassed? She'd given entire speeches in front of her Institute for the Angel's sake!

"If you would be so kind, Sara. Since she has taken a liking to you." Raphael nodded to the redheaded vampire girl.

Sara bowed slightly, pushing her way to Valentina and taking her arm. "Come along," she said. "I'll show you your room. Where _we _sleep."


	3. In Which Valentina Has a Strange Request

Chapter Three

It was small and dusty, Valentina noticed as she looked around the room. The blankets, once velvet and luxurious, were reduced to a single brown quilt draped over it.

Valentina felt a pinch behind her eyes. _Damn it, _she thought viciously. _I can't cry. _

"Is the room not to your liking, Valentina?" sniggered the vampire, Sara.

"Oh, it's fine," Valentina said, trying to make her voice light and airy. "Can I get something for it though?" Her voice cracked painfully, and she cursed her vocal cords.

"And what is that?"

Valentina thought of religion. She thought of her own, of Christianity, of Judaism, and of Islam. She thought of how faithful they were. How serious.

"I would like to put," she told Sara, not even bothering to disguise the waver in her voice. "I would like to put a Star of David upon the wall."

Sara laughed. "Why ever would you want one of those on the wall? You were a Shadowhunter; you did not practise Judaism."

Valentina fixed her with her Shadowhunter stare; her coldest look that she had been practicing. "Is that your concern?" she asked haughtily.

Sara laughed again. "In this clan, we share our secrets with each other. So there is absolute trust. Tell me, are you a fallen angel? Outcast from your Clave and attacked by some rogue?"

Valentina wanted to push the other girl down and jump repeatedly on her head. "How interesting," she said instead. "Or maybe it is because Raphael is too lazy to run a proper clan and tries to make you peaceful by giving you blackmail material?"

Sara glared at her. "You may be new here," she told the girl in a low, threatening tone, "but you still must abide by our rules. I understand you are young; a fledgling; and you think you are being rebellious and brave by disrespecting Raphael. But if you are wise, then you will learn to shut up and follow the rules of the clan." And she turned on her heel and went out.

And Valentina slammed the door as hard as she could.

And she threw herself on the bed.

And she screamed.


End file.
